Speedsters must stay away from the roads

1 June 2010

Not only now but even after the World Cup the speedsters must keep away
from the roads. There is no room for tolerance for such unpalatable
behaviour on our roads.

It is not fashionable to speed in case some motorists believe it is. The
arrests that were made in Limpopo on Sunday of two motorists who drove
279km/h and 273km/h respectively, one of whom is a government official
should serve as a shame to the offenders. The speed factor has been
declared in the traffic reports compiled by the Road Traffic Management
Corporation (RTMC) as one of the key contributory factors to road
deaths, yet we still find motorists who speed nevertheless. Even though
bail was given at R1 000 we believe as the RTMC that the amount was very
little for such an atrocious offense.

The country is hosting a world's event in less than two weeks and to
some of the motorists that means nothing. Some motorists seem to forget
that the roads are shared by many other million drivers and that speed
should not be the order of practice on the roads. One of the World Cup
expectations is the fact that we will have hundreds of visitors on the
roads and some of them will be getting lost as they try to find their
way around. This expectation needs to be met and one of the best ways to
meet this expectation would be to exercise patience on the road. And the
fact remains and that is 'a speedster does not have patience'.

One of the primary areas of delivery for our traffic law enforcement
during this World Cup is to ease congestion around stadia, fan parks,
airports and places of interest. It is still our primary objective to
catch speedsters because there should not be any. It is an appeal to all
the motorists stop speeding. As South Africans we all know of the common
phrase that says 'better late than sorry', indeed, it is the objective
of the traffic law enforcement that you arrive alive and make it in tact
to your respective destinations during the World Cup.

"We are happy that the Justice department will administer courts across
the country that will operate 24 hours as this move will certainly see
that the offenders get convicted throughout the duration of the World
Cup," maintains Collins Letsoalo the Acting CEO of the Road Traffic
Management Corporation (RTMC).

In the same breath, it must be known that there will be zero tolerance
for speedsters as it has been demonstrated this week. Do not let it be
you caught speeding! You may never see the World Cup because you may be
in prison.

For further information please contact:
Thandi Moya
Tel: 012 809 5317
Cell: 071 680 3445

Issued by: Road Traffic Management Corporation
1 June 2010